alhounos
Senior Member
- Thread starter
- #1
Yes, just 90 miles, so I'm still breaking it in and won't be able to give power/acceleration impressions for a little while.
For context, I previously owned a 2016 Civic EX-L, which was a fantastic all-round family car. I currently also own a 2001 Mercedes E55 AMG, which is an extremely cool car, but just isn't THAT fun to drive. A beautiful car to look at and the V8 torque and sound is addictive, but just not "fun" like a Civic. Previously I owned a 1992 Miata which I turbocharged to about 230whp, which was an absolute riot, as you can imagine.
Anyway, first impression is that this chassis is ROCK SOLID. I mean it is so tight and stiff that it feels like a modern BMW or Mercedes as far as rigidity. You get a real sense that the chassis is the rigid part and the suspension and wheels are the parts that move, if that makes sense. Chassis rigidity is one of those things that is hard to quantify or describe but it makes a huge difference in how a car feels. This car feels really, really good.
Second impression is that the suspension is very firm. Not harsh, mind you, but definitely firm and very sporty. You immediately know you're not in a standard Civic. Unfortunately I haven't driven a 10th gen Si so I can't make that comparison. My E55 is lowered an inch on a Bilstein/Eibach Pro-kit and it feels at least that firm.
Handling is excellent, from what I can tell so far, although it is winter here in the Pacific Northwest which means 40F temps and constant rain and fog - not ideal for the summer tires my car came with. I pushed it pretty hard in some wet corners to find the limits and they are very high. It finally breaks into a gradual understeer, which the steering wheel actually does a pretty good job of communicating to you. You can feel a little vibration of the tires searching for grip. The LSD also does an amazing job of pulling you out of turns, you can feel it send power left and right, but it just goes, even in these horrible conditions. (I have a set of Continental DWS06 on the way already. The summer tires will hopefully go on some nice lightweight Enkei wheels in a few months.
) The summer tires are also pretty noisy.
Steering is super fast and sharp, although in sport mode it feels artificially heavy. It's not terrible, and I'm sure you'd get used to it quickly but it is just a bit cheesy, IMO. I can already tell I will have my Individual mode set with "normal" steering and "sport" for the engine.
The shifter is excellent, as we all know by now, the seats are awesome, the interior looks great etc, etc. The engine sounds nice and is not too loud or too quiet.
So far, everything I've seen in the reviews matches with my experience. This is a much more substantial-feeling and refined package than my 10th gen, which was a very, very good car. I think this will be the beginning of a long and happy relationship.
Thanks for reading, here's some pics. You can see I'm not joking about the weather!
For context, I previously owned a 2016 Civic EX-L, which was a fantastic all-round family car. I currently also own a 2001 Mercedes E55 AMG, which is an extremely cool car, but just isn't THAT fun to drive. A beautiful car to look at and the V8 torque and sound is addictive, but just not "fun" like a Civic. Previously I owned a 1992 Miata which I turbocharged to about 230whp, which was an absolute riot, as you can imagine.
Anyway, first impression is that this chassis is ROCK SOLID. I mean it is so tight and stiff that it feels like a modern BMW or Mercedes as far as rigidity. You get a real sense that the chassis is the rigid part and the suspension and wheels are the parts that move, if that makes sense. Chassis rigidity is one of those things that is hard to quantify or describe but it makes a huge difference in how a car feels. This car feels really, really good.
Second impression is that the suspension is very firm. Not harsh, mind you, but definitely firm and very sporty. You immediately know you're not in a standard Civic. Unfortunately I haven't driven a 10th gen Si so I can't make that comparison. My E55 is lowered an inch on a Bilstein/Eibach Pro-kit and it feels at least that firm.
Handling is excellent, from what I can tell so far, although it is winter here in the Pacific Northwest which means 40F temps and constant rain and fog - not ideal for the summer tires my car came with. I pushed it pretty hard in some wet corners to find the limits and they are very high. It finally breaks into a gradual understeer, which the steering wheel actually does a pretty good job of communicating to you. You can feel a little vibration of the tires searching for grip. The LSD also does an amazing job of pulling you out of turns, you can feel it send power left and right, but it just goes, even in these horrible conditions. (I have a set of Continental DWS06 on the way already. The summer tires will hopefully go on some nice lightweight Enkei wheels in a few months.
) The summer tires are also pretty noisy.Steering is super fast and sharp, although in sport mode it feels artificially heavy. It's not terrible, and I'm sure you'd get used to it quickly but it is just a bit cheesy, IMO. I can already tell I will have my Individual mode set with "normal" steering and "sport" for the engine.
The shifter is excellent, as we all know by now, the seats are awesome, the interior looks great etc, etc. The engine sounds nice and is not too loud or too quiet.
So far, everything I've seen in the reviews matches with my experience. This is a much more substantial-feeling and refined package than my 10th gen, which was a very, very good car. I think this will be the beginning of a long and happy relationship.
Thanks for reading, here's some pics. You can see I'm not joking about the weather!
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